Vision Forum: A Dispensational Pastor’s Examination

The Fundamental Evangelistic Association has just published an article called “Vision Forum: A Dispensational Perspective,” by pastor Gary Freel of Grace Bible Church of Fresno, California. While the entire article is worth a read, here are a few excerpts:

VF’s website states it is “a ministry designed to communicate a vision for the restoration of the Christian family and the rebuilding of culture for the glory of God.” Again, we reiterate that we find no fault with their desire to serve families in this way. The need for godly homes has reached crisis stage, especially in the western culture in which we find ourselves today. It is obvious that both biblical truth and practice have been abandoned when it comes to the roles of families in our society (Eph. 5:19-6:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7; Col. 3:18-21; cf. 1 Tim. 1:9-10; 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5). However, we do not believe that a strictly Christian culture has ever existed, much less one that can be “rebuilt” for God’s glory. Rather, Christians have typically lived in pagan cultures, including in the United States of America, as a small minority. Our mandate is not to build some type of Christian culture out of our society; our mandate is to make and mature disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19-20). As believers in local churches, we are not to set out to make this world a better place for our posterity, to “bring in the kingdom,” or to establish some form of utopian society for succeeding generations. Not only do most churches and ministries not have the finances or the resources in terms of human capacity to achieve such a lofty goal, but this is simply not God’s purpose for believers during their time on earth. It also should be noted that attempting to place unregenerate people—political leaders and citizens—under the requirement of God’s Law in an attempt to create a culture for God’s glory is something that has been unsuccessfully attempted for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church and even some mainline Protestant groups, particularly in Europe. Today, Christians must understand their biblical mission and mandate, and attempting to “rebuild” a Christian culture is nowhere to be found in Scripture.

Pastor Freel also takes issue with Vision Forum’s reformed, covenantal, and reconstructionist theology, and argues that those interested in using Vision Forum’s materials need to be sure to look past the organization’s promise of a godly family and look at its theology.

It is somewhat puzzling to see people who would stand in vehement opposition to limited atonement utilizing and promoting a ministry that clearly stands in favor of it. But it illustrates how easily people can and do overlook important doctrinal issues, perhaps without realizing something much larger is at stake, namely, fidelity to truth. We believe this is something that should be considered carefully as one considers utilizing VF.